TCL

A dominant performance by the Americans today. Austin Watson opens the floodgates 5:40 in, then at 11:53 he strikes again. At 16:17, he scores a natural hat trick. Jason Zucker scores a shorthanded goal late in the period to make it 4-0 USA. JT Miller makes it 5-0 just 46 seconds into the second, and Nick Bjugstad makes it 6-0 10 seconds later. That was it for Kristers Gudlevskis, and Rihards Cimermanis goes in. The change in goalies does not stop the bleeding, although at 2:03, Zemgus Girgensons makes it 6-1, giving Latvia just a little hope, but the American scoring machine ramps back up again. Bill Arnold scores at 5:38 to make it 7-1. ...

After a day off, it was back to work at the World Juniors, with all of the action shifting to Calgary.

Relegation Game 1: Switzerland vs. Denmark

The first of the relegation games had Switzerland taking on Denmark. Just 70 seconds into the contest, Oliver Bjorkstrand makes it 1-0 for the Danes. 35 seconds later, Cedric Schneuwly ties the game for the Swiss. Less than two minutes later, Alessio Bertaggia makes it 2-1 Switzerland. Nicklas Jensen ties it up 2-2 for the Danes late in the opening period. Just over two minutes into the second period, Emil Kristensen commits hooking on a breakway, leading to a penalty shot and the Swiss with a chance to take the lead. Gregory Hofmann...

It’s the final game of this year’s Spengler Cup. Let’s run through the highlights.

HC Davos vs. Dinamo Riga for all the marbles. Davos gets on the board just less than 2 minutes into the contest, Gregory Sciaroni getting the goal. A too many men call on Riga results in a Davos goal, this one by Petr Sykora (not the one from New Jersey), score is now 2-0. Riga scores early in the second period, the goal by Jamie Lundmark. Another penalty to Riga midway through the second results in another Davos powerplay goal, Pavel Brendl scoring making it 3-1. A number of minor penalties on both siders, most of them going against Riga, sees the score rema...

It’s Semifinal Friday at the Spengler Cup in Davos, while the round robin games continue in Calgary and Edmonton.

SPENGLER CUP DAY 5

Semifinal Game 1: HC Davos vs. HC Vitkovie Steel

This is a rematch of the game on Tuesday, where Davos defeated Vitkovice. What happens today? Let’s find out. Gregory Sciaroni opens up the scoring for Davos to make it 1-0 just over 4 minutes in. Vitkovice would tie it up about 7 minutes later, the equalizer by Ondrej Sedivy. Early in the second, Nathan Walker gives Vitkovice their first lead of the day. But a couple of minutes later, Petr Taticek ties the game 2-2. About midway through the period, Pavel Brendl gives Davos the 3-...

During Thursday’s late game at Tecumseh Arena between Team Pacific and Team West for the World U-17, TSN hockey analyst Darren Dutchyshen was spotted behind the glass talking with scouts, all while watching his nephew play for Team West. “Dutchy,” as he is known on TSN, took time during intermissions and post-game for pictures and autographs with fans. Darren was kind enough to allow me to sit down with him for an interview, with his thoughts on the U-17 tournament.

Kyle Busch: Tecumseh is a small town, around 24,000 people live here. What do think of the show that the city is putting on here at Tecumseh Arena?

At the Spengler Cup, the knockout phase begins, while at the World Juniors, the round robin continues.

SPENGLER CUP DAY 4

Quarterfinal Game 1: Kloten Flyers vs. HC Vitkovice Steel

With only 2 goals to their credit, Vitkovice needed a huge performance if they wanted to stay alive. Late in the first period, Jan Kana gets the Steel on the board. Early in the second, Jan’s brother, Tomas, makes it 2-0. In the dying minutes of the middle period, Juraj Sykora pads the lead to 3-0. Early in the third, Petr Pohl extends the lead to 4-0. Juraj Stefanka makes it 5-0 with about 5 minutes to go. A bit of a scrum ensues shortly after, resulting in Franco Collenberg getting a sl...

To start, a correction to my previous article. I said Vitkovice was out of further competition in the Spengler Cup. They still have a quarterfinal game coming up in Day 4, therefore a chance to redeem themselves.

SPENGLER CUP DAY 3

Game 5: Dinamo Riga vs. GA Wolfsburg

A little trivia on the “GA” in GA Wolfsburg: it stands for “Grizzly Adams”, for those of you who may be familiar with a late 1970s TV show.

Looking for a bye to the semifinals, Dinamo Riga needed to beat Wolfsburg to get there. About halfway through the first period, Fredrik Warg scores the opening goal to give Riga the 1-0 lead. A few minutes later, Girts Ankipans makes it 2-0...

Just four games combined in Spengler Cup and World Juniors for today. Here’s the recap.

SPENGLER CUP DAY 2

Game 3: GA Wolfsburg vs. Kloten Flyers

This ended up being a one-sided contest. On Monday, Kloten was on the receiving end of a thrashing; this time, they provide the offense. In the latter half of the opening period, Roman Wick puts Kloten on the board, making it 1-0. In the second, a pair of quick goals by Micki Dupont and Yannick Herren put the Flyers up 3-0. Kloten would continue to show no mercy in the third, when Marcel Jenni makes it 4-0, then Victor Stancescu makes it 5-0, and Wick puts the icing on the cake, making it 6-0. As the game neared the end, ...

Today, the Spengler Cup and World Junior Championships get underway in Davos, Switzerland, and Calgary and Edmonton, Alberta, respectively.

SPENGLER CUP DAY 1

Game 1: Kloten Flyers vs. Dinamo Riga

There was no scoring through the first period, but both teams did have a powerplay. But early into the second, Riga scores first on a goal by Martins Karsums. Shortly after, Kloten ties it on a goal by Roman Wick sets up Victor Stancescu to make the game 1-1. After that, Riga would dominate with 8 unanswered goals. Martins Cipulis makes it 2-1 for the KHL squad, and later on, Robert Burkarts makes it 3-1. That’s how the second period would end. Riga’s third-period g...

Well, you're in luck. This is the first of a series of posts taking a closer look at the Grinder Threads Fall/Winter Hockey T-Shirt Collection. We're pulling back the curtains to provide a glimpse at the culmination of steps that result in the TCL gear in your closet. In our first installment, we'll be diving into the creation of the Flying Orr design.

THE IDEA:

Inspiration for the Flying Orr design, while it would appear obvious enough, actually sparked from the 2010-2011 HBO 24/7 series chronicling the Pens vs Caps...